No Way Out
by Euterpe1014
Summary: After tragedy strikes, Jessie and James flee from Team Rocket-- but can they ever really escape Giovanni? Rocketshippy goodness
1. Default Chapter

No Way Out  
by Euterpe  
  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Pokemon.   
*Pauses for a moment* Although I really wish I did. *The author imagines herself sitting on a throne, scepter in hand, surrounded by a pile of money* Oh yeah, that'd be real sweet…. mwahahahaha……  
  
...- denotes flashback  
  
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Jessie was crying. It was a very rare thing for her to do, but then, the circumstances that had caused her tears had been quite extreme. She sitting alone in her room at Rocket Headquarters, mourning the loss of one of her partners, and a close friend, Meowth. She recalled the events of the previous days. Just a few weeks ago, this all would have seemed so unlikely. It was only ten days ago when she, James, and Meowth had gotten orders to report back to HQ in Viridian City. The boss was recalling all available Team Rocket members for a special mission:  
  
  
Giovanni had called them into his office. "I've got a new job for you. As of this moment, you're off of the Pikachu assignment until further notice. You are needed in Saffron City as soon as possible. According to our spies, Silph Company has been working on the ultimate pokeball, a ball that guarantees the capture of any pokemon. It is called the Master Ball. It is for this reason that we are preparing to launch an attack on the Silph Co. main building. I need you to steal the prototype of the device. Use any means necessary: hostages, threats, violence…" He stopped. They knew what he meant- get the Master Ball at any cost.  
  
Jessie had always thought she'd be happy to get away from trying to capture the twerp's Pikachu, but this mission sounded much more difficult and dangerous. And it had proved to be so. They knew that their lives were in danger at any time- without warning, the police might make it inside and raid the place, and then it would be over. In that case, the best they could hope for was to be arrested. She also wondered about what would happen to them when and if they did get the Master Ball- how would they be able to get out and avoid the police?  
  
Luckily, things seemed to be going easily at first. Her team was assigned to keeping watch over the hostages- nothing too difficult or complicated, and hopefully,a task that wouldn't involve bloodshed. She really didn't want to have to kill someone. She may be a thief, but she could never be a killer.  
  
But then two days ago, the takeover of Silph Co. had abruptly ended in violence. It was getting late, and Jessie, James, and Meowth were trying to stay awake while waiting to be relieved of guard duty, when a frantic voice began shouting over their walkie-talkie. The police had entered the building. All ideas of loyalty to Giovanni were abandoned. Their only goal was to make it out of the building alive.  
  
The Rockets quickly abandoned their hostages, and ran toward the stairwell. It was a long way down-- 11 flights-- but it was the only out, aside from the elevator, which was out of the question. The three of them ran down the stairs, exhausted and terrified, but their instincts of survival pushing them on. The had made it down to the exit at the base of the stairwell on the ground floor, and it seemed that they were going to bet lucky and escape unharmed, when the door leading out to the main lobby flung open and a squad of Jennies appeared with their Growlithes. The exit was still unblocked, and only a few feet away. If only they could reach it…  
  
Then, in his last, courageous, act, Meowth had looked at his teammates and made a decision. 'Just look at them,' he thought. 'Two kids, with their whole lives ahead of them. They don't deserve to die or wind up in jail. Maybe if I could provide a distraction, it might buy them enough time to escape.' Before he could allow himself to change his mind, or let Jessie and James stop him, he had flung himself at the Growlithes, fury swiping them left and right. James stood there, stunned, but Jessie realized what Meowth was doing. "Come on, we have to go. Now". She grabbed James' hand and pulled him out the door to safety in the back alley behind the building, not even stopping to take one last look at their comrade.  
  
Meowth kept on fighting until he could no longer feel the pain. As the pack of Growlithes overwhelmed them, he thought bitterly to himself, 'Well, at least I have another 8 lives left…'  
  
  
  
James tentatively approached Jessie's door. He could hear sobbing coming from the other side, but after he knocked, it stopped abruptly. "Who is it?" she asked. "It's me. I thought maybe you might want to talk," he answered. After a few seconds, the door opened. Jessie looked terrible. She hadn't slept since the disaster, and despite her best attempts to hide it, James could tell that she had been crying.  
  
"Come in," she said, then turned around and returned to her seat on her bed. James crossed the small room, and sat down next to her. She looked as miserable as he was. "What do you want?" she questioned him, irritated.  
  
"Calm down," he said, "the past few weeks, especially the last two days, have been an emotional hell for me, and I'm sure that you feel the same way. If we could talk about what happened, maybe it would make us feel better."  
  
Jessie glared at him angrily. She was still in denial, and had convinced herself that by not mentioning Meowth's death, she could pretend that it hadn't happened. She especially didn't want James to see her crying like a weak little girl. Right then, she wasn't even sure why she had let him in to her room. After a few minutes of silence, she eventually couldn't take it anymore, and felt the tears coming back.  
  
"It's okay to cry, Jess. What do you think I've been doing for the past couple of hours? Go ahead, let it out," he encouraged her. Finally, she gave up, and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly and crying into his shoulder. They held on tightly to each other, sobbing silently.  
  
After a while, they ran out of tears. They pulled away and looked at each other. Jessie spoke first.  
  
"You know, Meowth saved our lives. He still cared about us enough to give up his life for us, even after all the abuse he had to put up with, all the mean things we said and did to him," she admitted guiltily.  
  
"Well he still knew that even though we acted that way on the outside, we loved him, and we were his friends." James knew what this felt like. He knew that despite the way that Jessie treated him, even with her arsenal of mallets and paper fans and her host of demeaning names, she still cared for him. And he knew that he loved her enough to put up with all of the abuse, and even enough to do for her what Meowth had done for them…  
  
"What really kills me is how Giovanni's handled the whole situation. To him, we're all expendable and completely worthless. All of us who were in that building put our lives on the line for his stupid plans. He turned his back on the agents who got arrested, and denies any connection with them. Everyone who died, he just left there. Poor Meowth. He's probably still laying there in that building . And what does he get? No recognition for what he did for the team…" Jessie cut herself off abruptly, remembering something that Butch had told her earlier that day. "Rumor has it that the Boss has got our rooms bugged. After what happened to our partners, he doesn't want us trying anything funny. I'd be careful what I said if I were you." Normally, she would be suspicious of anything that one of her rivals said, but she realized that he was in the same situation as she was- his partner Cassidy was among the Rockets who had perished at Silph Co.  
  
"Jess, have you ever thought about leaving the team? I really don't-" This was as far as James got before Jessie, eyes wide in horror, clamped her hand over his mouth. She got up, rushed over to her desk, found a pencil and paper, scrawled out a quick note, and handed it to her partner. It said; "Don't talk- the room is bugged." James nodded in understanding. He stood up.  
  
"You look like you need some rest," he said, changing the subject, "I'll leave now."  
  
"How are you feeling?" Her question came as somewhat of a shock to him- he couldn't think of a time when she had shown any concern for him.  
  
"Better. And you?"  
  
"Much better. Thank you for coming here, James. It really helped to have someone to talk to." She wanted to beg him to stay. That night she needed him there more than anything. They hugged again.  
  
"Anytime, Jess. See you tomorrow." James leaned toward her and for a brief second, thought about kissing her on the lips, but subdued the urge and instead he gently kissed her forehead.  
  
Tomorrow. Tomorrow they were supposed to meet with the Boss. Jessie went to bed and tried not to think about it. She had too much stress to deal with already...  
  
********  
  
TBC...  
  
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So how was it? This is actually the first fic I ever wrote-- I've had it lying around for a long time now. It's my first Pokemon fic as well-- I have other parts to it already, but it's not complete yet. Let me know what you think-- if you like it, I'll post some more soon! 


	2. No Way Out: Part 2

No Way Out: Part 2  
by Euterpe  
  
  
OK, I've noticed that people aren't reviewing this; frankly at this point, I'm beginning not to care anymore. So if I don't get any reviews, I'll stop writing this, because frankly, it's not worth putting a lot of effort into and submitting something that no one is going to read.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Pokémon. *Pauses for a moment* Although I really wish I did. *The author imagines herself sitting on a throne, scepter in hand, surrounded by a pile of money* Oh yeah, that'd be real sweet…. mwahahahaha……  
  
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At nine the next morning the two of them were in Giovanni's office, in uniform and standing in front of his desk. They were unsure what he planned to do with them-- what assignment did he have now? Had he heard their conversation the night before?  
  
"Ah, Jessica and James, the two surviving members of Team Rocket Division 164. I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Persian offers his condolences as well," Giovanni laughed mockingly, stroking the pokémon. "I have reviewed your performance, and thought about reassigning you, but then I decided to let you proceed with the Pikachu assignment. I know it's something the two of you won't screw up too badly. You will continue as before with the mission, and as soon as possible you will be assigned a new pokémon to assist you. That is all."  
  
Once they were outside of the office, Jessie and James sighed in relief. The boss didn't suspect them-- they were safe for now, and they were allowed to continue with their old mission. If he had chosen to reassign them, it would have possibly meant more dangerous work, or even worse, being separated and forced to work on different teams. Both returned to their rooms and packed their things. They would leave that night.  
  
*******  
  
Usually they found their life on the road, which involved having to move around constantly to follow Ash and his friends, difficult, and wound up spending most of their time complaining. But for once, Jessie and James were glad to be away from headquarters, and somewhere where they were sure that the boss wasn't watching them. They had set up their camp in the Viridian Forest, because luckily their target was nearby, visiting his mother in Pallet Town. It was a nice night, so they had decided not to set up their tent, and to just unroll their sleeping bags. They were seated on top of them with their campfire going, continuing their discussion from the night before.  
  
"In answer to your question, James, yes, I have thought about leaving the team. I think about it every time we get blasted off. I think about it whenever the Boss humiliates us. And I thought about it when I saw what happened to Meowth. But what would we do if we left? We couldn't go back to our families, we have no money or education, and we have a criminal record. We have nowhere else to go."  
  
James was more optimistic. "We don't have to think about all of that now. What matters most is getting out of Team Rocket. Once that's done, I'm sure we'll be okay, as long as we're together."  
  
Jessie sighed. Cute, but totally oblivious to reality. "And how do you suggest we leave? We can't just go up to Giovanni and tell him we'd like to quit. That's not how it works. We know too many secrets for him to just let us go."  
  
James thought a moment. "Well, maybe we could just do something to get ourselves fired."  
  
"Giovanni doesn't fire people. Once you've joined Team Rocket, he has you for life. There's only one way to leave-- the way that Meowth did."  
  
"Well, we can either try to leave now and risk getting killed, or wait and do nothing and wind up dead in some time in the future." James insisted. "The way I see it, we really don't have anything to lose."  
  
Jessie suddenly got the look of someone who has come up with a brilliant idea. " James, that's it! I know what we can do. Giovanni won't come after us if he thinks we're dead already, right?"  
  
"Yeah. So?" James was confused.  
  
"So what if we fake our deaths? He'll leave us alone if we're dead."  
  
"Jess, that's perfect!" he grinned.  
  
She tossed her hair. "I /am/ the beauty and the brains of this team. Do you expect anything less than perfection from me?"  
  
Beauty…perfection… James knew what he wanted his response to be, but held back, for fear of a whack from Jessie's menacing paper fan. Instead he said, "Why don't we start planning now?" He didn't want to spend a second more with Team Rocket than was necessary.   
  
"Okay. First, about supplies…" she began. They continued plotting throughout the night.   
  
********  
  
Two weeks later, they were back at headquarters, with their plan fully formed. The boss had called them back to reassign them a new pokémon partner, a sandshrew with a bad attitude. But they took advantage of this return to gather the items they would need for their escape and the long journey that was to follow. James was in his room gathering together his things.  
  
'Only bring the essentials,' Jessie had reminded him. James stuffed a change of "civvie" clothes into his backpack, along with a few cans of food, matches, and some extra money. His bottlecap collection would have to stay behind. He then walked over to his dresser and looked sadly at the photos of Jessie and him together. They would have to remain too. But what did they matter when he had the real thing there with him? Clipping Victreebell and Weezing's pokeballs to his belt, he opened the top drawer of the dresser, and pulled out the final item: a standard issue Team Rocket revolver, still in mint condition. It had never been used. Although he and Jessie were trained to be expert shots, they both abhorred the idea of actually using the guns, especially when their opponent was a ten-year-old boy. They had hidden the guns away and vowed not to use them except in extreme circumstances. They had concluded that this, however, qualified as extreme. Hands shaking, James dropped the gun inside and closed the bag. He didn't even want to look at it.  
  
Jessie waited impatiently outside of James' door. She kept imagining that they would be caught at any second, would have liked to get outside as soon as possible. Finally James appeared. "Do you have everything?" she asked him. He nodded grimly. "Good. Then let's get the hell out of here."  
  
********  
  
That night they camped out in Viridian Forest once again. Putting their plan into action immediately would seem too suspicious; they would wait instead for the following day. At about midday they set up the equipment, inflating the Meowth balloon for the last time. Seeing their beloved friend's face again made the task more difficult. As James fixed the explosive device inside of it, Jessie was struck by an odd thought. The balloon would be a kind of funeral pyre for the pokemon, a final tribute he had never received. As they cut the ropes and watched the balloon ascend, she felt a sense of relief.  
  
Together they watched the balloon drift southwards, toward Viridian City, where it would be easily visible. The idea was that the explosive device would go off in a few minutes, setting the balloon on fire. They had left a few extra pieces of clothing-- including their Team Rocket jackets and gloves, which they wouldn't be needing any longer-- to give the impression that they had been in the balloon at the time and had succumbed to a very unfortunate incident. Right on time, the explosive went off, and the helium-filled balloon ignited. It disintegrated and fell back to earth into a nearby lake. Jessie and James stood with their gazes fixed to the spectacle the entire time, watching their "deaths" before they turned away to run for their lives.  
  
********  
  
It had been two whole days since their escape. After changing into regular clothes and disposing of their Team Rocket uniforms, they had trekked northwards. They were now well beyond Pewter City, and were even outside of Indigo County, but their food supply was running low and they would have to stop soon. Neither of them had slept since they departed, and now about to collapse, they pushed forward.  
  
"Jess, we can't keep going like this. We have to find a place to rest," James complained.  
  
"Fine. Let's find a cave or something to hide in." Jessie was too tired to argue with him.  
  
They searched for a while and finally found a small cave. They lit up the inside with a flashlights and found that it was empty- no zubats or geodudes in sight. Laying down their things, they began to contemplate how they could rest and keep guard at the same time.  
  
"It seems like the safest thing to do would be to sleep in shifts," James concluded, settling down on the floor of the cave with his back to the wall.  
  
"Are you volunteering to go first? That's fine with me. How about this: I'll sleep till 6:00, then you can wake me and I'll take over for you." Jessie sat next to him.  
  
James sighed. He knew he wouldn't win this one; he assented to her. "But Jessie, where are you going to sleep?" They hadn't had enough room to bring their sleeping bags.  
  
In response, she moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his torso. Placing her head on his shoulder, she mumbled, "Good night, James," before quickly sliding into peaceful sleep.  
  
This unexpected gesture left James trembling nervously, too afraid to make the slightest movement and startle her. He could feel Jessie's relaxed heartbeat next to him, and his own pounding within his ribcage. What she had done truly shocked him. Sure, they had found themselves holding each other many times before, but it was usually out of fear, and half the time they weren't even aware of what they were doing. This time, though, Jessie had deliberately put herself into close contact with him. He wondered if it was only because of their lack of sleeping bags. With the faint glow of the flashlight, he could make out her features as she slept. Her tough exterior had dropped, and she was at peace. He must have spent hours looking at her, because when he checked his watch again, it was almost 6:00. But he couldn't bring himself to wake her, not just yet. She just looked too happy…  
  
When Jessie finally awoke on her own, it was already after 9:00. She looked up at James. He looked ready to break down, physically and mentally at any moment. "James, why didn't you wake me earlier? You need to get some rest." She let go of him. "I'll take over for a while. Try to get some sleep. I'll wake you at 3:00."  
  
He nodded numbly and got up, moving several feet away from her. He sat down again, and facing away from her, prepared to use his backpack as a pillow, afraid that if he got too close to her, she might interpret his actions the wrong way.  
  
"What are you doing?" Jessie exclaimed. "What's the matter with you? Come over here-- I won't let you sleep on the floor." This surprised James, but then he recalled how much she had changed since the disaster, how much concern she had started to show toward him. Slowly, he got up and moved towards her. "Closer," she insisted. He obeyed, and soon was right next to her again. She took his shoulders and eased him down until his head was in her lap. James hoped that in the dim lighting, she wouldn't be able to see how flushed his face had become. "Now relax. I'm not going to hurt you." Finally, after a long time, James was able to calm down and drift off.  
  
Jessie looked down at him and smiled. What made him so nervous and afraid of her? She had only let him rest his head there out of kindness...hadn't she? She was no longer exactly sure herself. Time seemed suspended as she sat there, gently stroking James' silky hair. Soon she detected a faint light coming from the mouth of the cave; it was well after 3:00 and the sun was already coming up. But she didn't have the heart to wake him, at least not yet. In waning glow of the flashlight, she could see his face. James had a look of childlike innocence even when he was awake, and it was even more obvious as he slept. She felt it was her duty to protect James and preserve that innocence. Throughout the time they had known each other, close to ten years, she had always been there to look out for him. She had always played the role of the strong one. But now she wondered how much longer she could go on…  
  
TBC...  
  
  
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If you're reading this, I would really appreciate your reviews. I don't have much experience with Pokémon fics, so any advice you can give me would be a big help. Tell me what you like or don't like. Hate the fact that Meowth died? Don't like the shippyness? Let me know. 


	3. No Way Out: Part 3

No Way Out: Part 3  
by Euterpe  
  
Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I was beginning to think there wasn't anyone alive out there...I really appreciate hearing your comments on my first Pokémon fic-- your reviews have been very encouraging, and I've decided to continue with the story. So without further ado, here's Part 3:  
  
Disclaimer: Albert's mine, but he's just some guy I made up for the purposes of moving the story along. I'm not particularly attached to him; use him in your works if you feel like it-- hell, write a lemon with him if that's what floats your boat. I don't own any of the characters from Pokémon, though. *pauses for a moment* Although maybe I could try transforming myself into Satoshi Tajiri. *pulls out magical authoress wand* POOF! *checks self* Nope, it didn't work-- I'm still me. Better luck next time...  
  
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That day, realizing that they couldn't continue much further on their own, the pair began to look for a place to stay. They planned to stop in the nearest town, where, according to Jessie's reasoning, the first place they would look for would be a PokéCenter. Why? If the town had no PokéCenter, that meant there were no pokémon. If there were no pokémon, chances were that no one there had heard of Team Rocket, so no one would know who they were.  
  
The sign at the outskirts of the first city they found read "Welcome to Azure City". The name was misleading, however-- although the skies were perfectly blue, the "city" was nothing more than a single street lined by a few shops, and several randomly scattered houses. No PokéCenter in sight. But just to be safe, Jessie and James walked into what appeared to be the town's general store. Jessie approached the manager, and began to speak in her most polite voice: "Excuse me sir, but our pokémon have just had a tough battle and we'd like to buy some potions to heal them. Do you happen to have anything in stock?"  
  
The man looked at her as if she was crazy. " Would ya mind explainin' yourself, missy? I've never heard of these 'pokémon' before. What're they, friends 'a yours or somethin'? I'm sorry, but all I sell here's food and some housewares."  
  
"Oh then. Never mind." Jessie tried to make herself sound disappointed, but in fact she was greatly relieved. It was clear from the man's response that she and James would be safe here. "But maybe there's another way that you could help us. We just had a long trip and we're looking for a place to spend the night. Is there anywhere around here for us to stay?"  
  
"'Fraid not. The town's too small to get many visitors, so we don't have a motel or anythin' like that. But one of the locals, ol' Albert, has been known to take in boarders from time to time, if he has a good feeling about 'em."  
  
"That would be fine," said James. "Could you maybe tell us where to find this Albert?"  
  
"You just did. Nice ta meet ya," the man laughed. He wasn't that old-- maybe in his fifties or sixties-- was a little on the heavy side, and sported a beard. He had a good sense of humor and there was something about him that made him seem understanding. "The feeling I have about you two is that you're a couple of good kids who won't give me any trouble. If ya like, I'll let ya stay the night and we'll see how things go from there. So Whaddya say?"  
  
Jessie and James glanced quickly at each other. "Yes," they answered simulaneously.  
  
  
********  
  
Albert's shop wouldn't be closing until 5:00, and since there was still some time before he would be leaving, Jessie and James decided to explore the town for a while. Once Albert had closed up for the night, they followed him back to his house.  
  
"I don't mean ta pry or anything, but I was wonderin' what you kids were doin' out here in the middle of nowhere. How'd you wind up in Azure City anyways? No wait, let me guess. You two are in love and you ran away from home because your parents didn't understand how you felt about each other. No that's not it. You're running away from somebody or something, right?" Albert inquired curiously on their way to his home.  
  
"Yes. We are running away from someone, but we really don't want to talk about it. It's something we'd like to put behind us." Jessie closed the subject.  
  
"Right. It's your personal business and I shouldn't be askin'. Forgive me." By this time they had reached the door, and Albert let them in. The house seemed rather large, especially for just one person, but still it was comfortable and quaint. "I'll show you where your room is so you can unpack your things, then you can join me for dinner." He paused to laugh. "Ya know, I just realized, I don't think I even know your names yet."  
  
"Oh, right. Jessie."  
  
"James." Oddly, they still found it difficult not to launch into their team motto after saying their names. Old habits die hard.  
  
"There. Well, that's better now." He shook their hands and then continued on his way, motioning for them to follow him up the stairs. "Now here's the situation. Way back when, I used to live here with my family. But my dear wife passed on a few years ago, and now my kids are all grown up and moved out. That left me with a lot 'a space that I used to rent out, but lately the town doesn't get many tourists, so now I use most of the rooms for storage instead. I still have one bedroom left, with one bed. You two wouldn't mind sharin', would you?"  
  
James blushed at the suggestion. "Why don't you take the bed, Jess? I'll sleep on a couch or the floor or something. I really don't mind."  
  
Jessie rolled her eyes. Here he went again-- did he have to be such a gentleman all the time? "Cut the crap, James. We can handle this like mature adults. Sharing a bed is perfectly all right with me."  
  
"Okay then. Well here's the room." Albert opened the door to reveal a room with a large bed, some chairs, a dresser, and what appeared to be its own bathroom. The windows of the bedroom were large and covered by fine curtains. Much nicer than the tiny cramped cells which had been their rooms back at Team Rocket Headquarters, and easily better than camping out under fickle weather conditions. "I'll give you two a little while to settle in and put down your things while I make us some dinner. Oh, one more thing. If ya need some clean clothes-- and it looks like you will 'cause ya didn't bring much-- I can give you some of the ones that my son and daughter left behind. They're a little old, but they just might fit." Jessie and James thanked him again, and he left, closing the door behind him.  
  
"Right now, all I want to do is take a nice, long, hot shower," James exclaimed, heading towards the bathroom.  
  
"You can't do that yet. We don't have any clean clothes to wear," Jessie reminded him. "You'll have to wait until after dinner." She laid down and stretched out on the bed. So nice and soft…she fell asleep almost instantly, until James gently woke her up and informed her that dinner was ready.  
  
Downstairs, they politely tried their best to enjoy the food, but it was clear that Albert was better at being a host than a cook. "Sorry. I know it's no gourmet meal or anything, but my wife always used ta do all the cooking, and I never really learned how ta cook for myself."  
  
Jessie spoke up. "You know, James is an excellent cook. He can make something for us next time if you'd like."  
  
At this, James looked up from his plate and his face brightened. He didn't mind "volunteering" this time. Even he could not tolerate Albert's poor excuse for Hamburger Helper, and he secretly enjoyed any opportunity to show off his expert cooking skills. "Um, sure. I'll be willing to try it, that is, if you don't mind."  
  
"Okay, James. Then it's settled. You're makin' dinner tomorrow night."  
  
They quickly finished eating, not wishing to prolong the experience any more than necessary. Albert handed them a change of clothes and they went upstairs to get ready for bed. After taking their showers, they settled into the soft, clean sheets.  
  
"Hey Jess? Are you still awake?" James asked, turning toward his partner.  
  
"Mmm?" he heard next to him. "For the moment, yeah. What is it?"  
  
"What do you think? Of this place, I mean? And of Albert. He seems like a pretty nice guy, right?"  
  
"Yeah whatever. Less talk, more sleep."  
  
"I just meant that I think we should stay for a while. I feel really safe. What do you think?" Dead silence. "Jessie? Aw, forget it. We can talk about it tomorrow." James rolled over and closed his eyes.  
  
TBC...  
  
  
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OK, not much interesting happening in this chapter, I know-- I'm just trying to establish the setting for the parts coming up. There's more action to come, I promise. As long as I've got your attention here, I'd just like to ask you to take the time to review and let me know what you think so far. Is there anything you'd like to see in the story? Drop me a line.. 


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